1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to imprinting devices and more particularly to a large area intermittent imprinter.
2. Prior Art
Intermittent imprinters are well known to the art and include devices which constitute a main frame providing support for transfer tape supply and take-up reels and guide means for guiding the tape from the supply reel to the take-up reel across an area immediately adjacent a marking head. The marking head may include a heater block and a replaceable printing block which has raised printing indicia thereon. A power member, normally an air cylinder or the like, including a powered moving portion, activates the intermittent imprinter and either moves an anvil towards and away from the fixed printing block, as shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,446, the teachings of which are herein incorporated by reference, or the actuator may move the marker head and printing block towards and away from a fixed anvil. Normally the same power member is used to drive the tape drive system.
Marking in these prior art devices is accomplished by interposing an item to be marked between the printing block and tape and the anvil and thereafter moving either the anvil or the printing block into pressed engagement with the tape and the tape into pressed engagement with the item to be marked. The tape used in connection with a popular type of marker is a heat transfer tape having one face thereof coated with pigmentation which, when subjected to the heated printing block and pressure, transfers a portion corresponding to the raised indicia onto the item to be marked.
Of course other marking devices are well known including those using inked tapes, and mechanisms using ink rollers to ink the printing block.
Almost exclusively, the above described type of imprinter has a fixed limitation on the size of the imprint area. Although there is relatively little limitation on the size of the tape that can be used, the size of the printing block and the marker head is limited due to the necessity of quickly overcoming the inertia of a large mass. These marking devices operate at comparatively high speeds and heretofore, marking devices have not had sufficient marking head stability to allow the use of large size marking heads. In addition the type of power actuator linkage connections which have been used have not been conducive to movement of large mass printing heads. Thus, previously existing transfer tape intermittent imprinters have been restricted to an overall imprint area of approximately 2 inches by 2 inches. However there exists a demand for transfer tape imprinters capable of clearly and rapidly intermittently imprinting an area of larger size.